This ongoing series from Barrie Historical Archive curator Deb Exel shows old photos from the collection and one from the present day.
First Baptist Church
Records indicate that the Baptist congregation in Barrie may have been meeting as early as 1871.
They used to hold services in the Loyal Orange Hall on Clapperton Street as of 1876, before moving into their newly built church at the corner of Clapperton and Worsley streets in 1878.
The church was designed George Brown, a plasterer and mason, who had worked with builder George Ball on projects such as Lount’s Castle and the remodelled market building (old city hall).
Sinclair House, located next door, was used as an annex for church activities for a period of time and the first parsonage of the Baptist church still stands across the road at 40 Clapperton St.
The church’s elegant spire was hit by lightning long ago and never rebuilt, much the same as when Trinity Anglican’s steeple was damaged by lightning in 1934 and never restored.
The Baptist church moved from the Clapperton Street location in 1997 and the building was later sold to a financial company.
